Wall Street is heading for a subdued opening on Thursday morning, but this shouldn't stop the S&P 500 and Nasdaq from setting new records thanks to the continued rise of major technology stocks.

Half an hour before the opening, the Dow Jones futures contract was down 0.1%, but the Nasdaq was up 0.3%, suggesting a cautious start to the session on the day after the Juneteenth vacation.

US equity markets continue to be driven by the performance of technology stocks, which are benefiting from renewed investor confidence following recent highs.

On Tuesday evening, the Nasdaq recorded its seventh consecutive session of gains, led by powerhouse Nvidia, which became the world's largest market capitalization at $3,335 billion.

The AI chipmaker is ahead of Microsoft ($3,317 billion) and Apple ($3,285 billion).

According to analysts at Wedbush Securities, these three companies will be vying for the title of first company to break through the $4,000 billion market capitalization barrier in the coming year.

The performance of the "Magnificent Seven" - which now account for over 30% of the S&P 500 index's weight - has enabled the latter to post a 15% gain since the start of the year.

In a note released on Monday, Goldman Sachs strategists said they were aiming for an S&P 500 of 5,600 points by the end of the year, representing a potential upside of 5%, without however ruling out an index of 6,300 points (+16%) should the exceptional performance of the mega-cap stocks continue.

The soaring share prices of the tech giants thus outweigh economic concerns and uncertainties surrounding the timing of future Fed rate cuts.

Released this morning, jobless claims fell by 5,000 to 238,000 last week, showing that the labor market remains buoyant.

The Philly Fed index - which measures the growth of manufacturing activity in the northeastern US - fell by three points to +1.3 June, since a figure above zero indicates growth in the sector.

The Commerce Department reported a 5.5% drop in housing starts in May, while building permits for new homes fell by 3.8%.

On the bond market, the yield on ten-year Treasury bonds moved little after these figures, advancing four basis points above 4.26%, which still marks the lowest level in almost three months.

Copyright (c) 2024 CercleFinance.com. All rights reserved.